The 317th Platoon

The 317th Platoon

Before there was a Vietnam War and an accompanying cinema to describe it, there was the Indochina War and a sucking quagmire for the occupying French army that predicted what was to come for the Americans. Pierre Schoendoerffer, a onetime army cameraman and veteran, depicts all the grit and sweat and fear of tropical combat in this too-little-seen frontlines classic. Shot by the incomparable cinematographer Raoul Coutard, The 317th Platoon is a film by turns punishing and poetic, and one entirely ready for rediscovery.